Method for displaying background screen in mobile terminal

ABSTRACT

Disclosed is a method for displaying a background screen in a mobile terminal, the method including the steps of resizing other background screens, except for a current background screen currently being displayed, among a plurality of background screens to a predefined display size when a predefined key is input, and displaying the resized background screens in predefined regions, respectively, within a display area in which the current background screen is displayed.

PRIORITY

This application claims the benefit under 35 U.S.C. §119(a) of a Koreanpatent application filed in the Korean Intellectual Property Office onOct. 13, 2009 and assigned Serial No. 10-2009-0097255, the entiredisclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a mobile terminal. More particularly,the present invention relates to a method for displaying a backgroundscreen in a mobile terminal.

2. Description of the Related Art

In general, the term “mobile terminal” refers to a communication devicewith which a user can communicate and exchange data with another userwhile mobile. As mobile communication environments for such a mobileterminal are developing more and more, the capabilities of the mobileterminal, which has only previously been used for voice communication,are increasing. For example, with such a mobile terminal, the user mayuse Audio On Demand (AOD) and Video On Demand (VOD) services, may havemobile visual communication with another user in real time through theuse of a camera installed in the mobile terminal, may download and playa game application, or may view a Digital Multimedia Broadcast (DMB)through the use of a DMB receiver. That is, mobile terminals haveevolved into a device that enables the user to use various types ofinformation in addition to the voice communication function.

The increase in capabilities of the mobile terminal leads to an increasein the kinds of applications to select and execute, which in turn meansan increase in the kinds of icons, corresponding to applications, whichare used to access the applications. However, since the mobile terminalis limited in size, it is not easy to display all icons on a displaywhich likewise has a limited size.

In order to address such a problem, there has been proposed a method ofsetting a plurality of background screens displayed on a display unit,disposing a plurality of icons according to the set background screens,and enabling the user to make transitions between the background screensand to use the background screens as needed, so that a large number oficons can all be displayed on one display unit.

FIGS. 1A-1C are views illustrating background screens based on a methodfor displaying a background screen according to the related art.

Referring to FIGS. 1A-1C, the user may set a first background screenincluding icons 1 a, 1 b, and 1 c, as shown in FIG. 1A, a secondbackground screen including icons 2 a, 2 b, and 2 c, as shown in FIG.1B, and a third background screen including icons 3 a, 3 b, and 3 c, asshown in FIG. 1C. Thereafter, when the user is to execute a specificapplication, the user identifies the location of an icon correspondingto the specific application while making transitions between thebackground screens shown in FIGS. 1A-1C in order to find the specificapplication, and executes the specific application by executing the iconwhen the user has identified the location of the icon. For example, whenan icon corresponding an application the user desires to execute is icon2 a shown in a background screen shown in FIG. 1B, the user identifiesthat icon 2 a has been registered in the background screen shown in FIG.1B while making transitions between the three background screens shownin FIGS. 1A-1C, makes a transition to the background screen shown inFIG. 1B, and executes the icon 2 a, thereby executing the desiredapplication.

According to the method of the related art that is described withreference to FIGS. 1A-1C, icons are set according to background screens,so that all icons can be registered (or disposed) among the variousbackground screens despite there being many icons. However, when thenumber of executable applications in a mobile terminal increases, thenumber of icons increases accordingly, thereby causing inconvenience tothe user. That is, when there is a large number of icons, it isdifficult for the user to remember which background screen an iconcorresponding to a desired application is included in. Accordingly, theuser must search for the corresponding icon while continuously makingtransitions between background screens, which causes inconvenience tothe user.

Accordingly, there is a need to develop a method for enabling the userto easily identify icons registered according to background screens sothat the user can rapidly execute a desired application.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

An aspect of the present invention is to address at least theabove-mentioned problems and/or disadvantages and to provide at leastthe advantages described below. Accordingly, an aspect of the presentinvention is to provide a method for enabling a user to easily identifyicons registered according to background screens so that the user canrapidly execute a desired application.

In accordance with an aspect of the present invention, a method fordisplaying a background screen in a mobile terminal is provided. Themethod includes resizing other background screens, except for a currentbackground screen currently being displayed, among a plurality ofbackground screens to a predefined display size when a predefined key isinput, and displaying the resized background screens in predefinedregions, respectively, within a display area in which the currentbackground screen is displayed.

In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, a mobileterminal apparatus for displaying a background screen is provided. Theapparatus includes a display unit for displaying a background screen toa user, an input unit for receiving input from the user, and acontroller for controlling to resize other background screens, exceptfor a current background screen currently being displayed, among aplurality of background screens to a predefined display size when apredefined key is input, and for controlling to display the resizedbackground screens in predefined regions, respectively, within a displayarea of the display in which the current background screen is displayed.

Other aspects, advantages, and salient features of the invention willbecome apparent to those skilled in the art from the following detaileddescription, which, taken in conjunction with the annexed drawings,discloses exemplary embodiments of the invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The above and other aspects, features, and advantages of certainexemplary embodiments of the present invention will be more apparentfrom the following description taken in conjunction with theaccompanying drawings, in which:

FIGS. 1A-1C are views illustrating background screens based on a methodfor displaying a background screen according to the related art;

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating the configuration of a mobileterminal according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating a method for displaying a backgroundscreen according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention;

FIGS. 4A-4C are views showing a first example of background screensbased on a method for displaying a background screen according to anexemplary embodiment of the present invention; and

FIGS. 5A-5C are views showing a second example of background screensbased on a method for displaying a background screen according to anexemplary embodiment of the present invention.

Throughout the drawings, it should be noted that like reference numbersare used to depict the same or similar elements, features, andstructures.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS

The following description with reference to the accompanying drawings isprovided to assist in a comprehensive understanding of exemplaryembodiments of the invention as defined by the claims and theirequivalents. It includes various specific details to assist in thatunderstanding but these are to be regarded as merely exemplary.Accordingly, those of ordinary skill in the art will recognize thatvarious changes and modifications of the embodiments described hereincan be made without departing from the scope and spirit of theinvention. In addition, descriptions of well-known functions andconstructions may be omitted for clarity and conciseness.

The terms and words used in the following description and claims are notlimited to the bibliographical meanings, but, are merely used by theinventor to enable a clear and consistent understanding of theinvention. Accordingly, it should be apparent to those skilled in theart that the following description of exemplary embodiments of thepresent invention is provided for illustration purpose only and not forthe purpose of limiting the invention as defined by the appended claimsand their equivalents.

It is to be understood that the singular forms “a,” “an,” and “the”include plural referents unless the context clearly dictates otherwise.Thus, for example, reference to “a component surface” includes referenceto one or more of such surfaces.

The configuration of a mobile terminal according to an exemplaryembodiment of the present invention will now be described with referenceto FIG. 2.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating the configuration of a mobileterminal according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 2, a key input unit 27 includes keys for inputtingnumeric and text information, and function keys for setting variousfunctions.

A radio transmission/reception unit 23 performs a wireless communicationfunction of the mobile terminal, and includes a Radio Frequency (RF)module and a modem. The RF module includes an RF transmitter forup-converting a frequency of a transmission signal and amplifying theup-converted signal, and an RF receiver for low-noise amplifying areceived signal and down-converting a frequency of the low-noiseamplified signal. The modem includes a transmission section for encodingand modulating signals to be transmitted, and a reception section fordemodulating and decoding signals received by the RF module.

An audio processor 25 may include a codec, which may contain a datacodec and an audio codec. The data codec processes packet data or thelike, and the audio codec processes audio signals, including voice, amultimedia file, etc. In addition, the audio processor 25 converts adigital audio signal received from the modem into an analog signal bymeans of the audio codec, and reproduces the analog signal. Also, theaudio processor 25 converts an analog audio signal generated from amicrophone (MIC) into a digital audio signal by means of the audiocodec, and transfers the digital audio signal to the modem. In thiscase, the codec may be provided separately, or may be included in acontroller 10 of the mobile terminal.

The memory 30 includes a Read Only Memory (ROM) and a Random AccessMemory (RAM). The memory 30 may be configured by a program memory and adata memory, and may store data for booting and programs for controllingthe operation of the mobile terminal.

A display unit 50 displays a video signal and/or user data on a screen,or displays communication-related data. In this case, the display unit50 may be constructed with a Liquid Crystal Display (LCD), an OrganicLight-Emitting Diode (OLED), and/or an Active Matrix OrganicLight-Emitting Diode (AMOLED). When the LCD, OLED, and/or AMOLED isimplemented in a touch screen type, the display unit 50 may serve as aninput unit for controlling the mobile terminal together with the keyinput unit 27. Therefore, according to an exemplary embodiment of thepresent invention, the display unit 50 may include a touch screen, andserve as an input unit for controlling the mobile terminal together withthe key input unit 27.

The controller 10 functions to control general operations of the mobileterminal. According to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention,when there is a plurality of set background screens, the controller 10performs a control operation in such a manner as to resize backgroundscreens, other than the current background screen which is displayed inthe display unit 50 according to a predefined key input, to have apredefined display size, and to display the resized background screensin predefined regions of the current background screen, respectively.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating the method for displaying abackground screen according to an exemplary embodiment of the presentinvention, and FIGS. 4A-4C and 5A-5C are views showing examples ofbackground screens based on the method for displaying a backgroundscreen according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.Exemplary embodiments of the present invention will now be describedwith reference to FIGS. 2 to 5C.

In step S301 the controller 10 determines if a predefined key is inputby a user. If the controller 10 determines that the predefined key isnot input by a user, a corresponding function is performed. However, ifthe controller 10 determines that the predefined key is input by theuser, the controller 10 performs a control operation to resizebackground screens, other than the current background screen, to apredefined display size in step S302, and to display the resizedbackground screens at predefined locations in the current backgroundscreen in step S303.

In step S301, the predefined key refers to a key which is preset toresize background screens, other than a background screen currentlybeing used by the user, to the predefined display size when a pluralityof background screens have been registered in the mobile terminal. Forexample, when a specified key of the key input unit 27 is input (e.g.,when a short or long key signal is input), or when a touch signal isinput to the display unit 50 through a touch screen (e.g., when aspecified location is touched or is touched for a long period of time),it may be determined that the predefined key is input. Meanwhile, abackground screen 410 shown in FIG. 4A includes a plurality of icons411, 412, and 413 for executing specific applications, a backgroundscreen 420 shown in FIG. 4B includes a plurality of icons 421, 422, and423, and a background screen 430 shown in FIG. 4C includes a pluralityof icons 431, 432, and 433, which are shown as an example.

Therefore, when the three background screens 410, 420, and 430 shown inFIGS. 4A-4C have been registered in the mobile terminal, and apredefined key input is detected in a state where the background screen410 is currently being used by the user, the controller 10 performs acontrol operation to resize the background screens 420 and 430 to apredefined size, as indicated by reference numbers 420 a and 430 a,respectively, and to display the resized background screens atpredefined locations (or in predefined regions) of a display area inwhich the current background screen is displayed, as shown in thebackground screen 410 shown in FIG. 4A. Also, when a predefined keyinput is detected in a state where the background screen 420 iscurrently being used by the user, the controller 10 performs a controloperation to resize the background screens 410 and 430 to a predefinedsize, as indicated by reference numbers 410 a and 430 a, respectively,and to display the resized background screens at predefined locations ofa display area in which the current background screen is displayed, asshown in the background screen 420 shown in FIG. 4B. In addition, when apredefined key input is sensed in a state where the background screen430 is currently being used by the user, the controller 10 performs acontrol operation to resize the background screens 420 and 410 to apredefined size, as indicated by reference numbers 420 a and 410 a,respectively, and to display the resized background screens atpredefined locations of a display area in which the current backgroundscreen is displayed, as shown in the background screen 430 shown in FIG.4C.

According to another exemplary embodiment of the present invention, thecontroller 10 may perform a control operation to resize and displayicons also included in a resized and displayed background screen, to apredefined size corresponding to or not corresponding to the resizedsize of the background screen. When the resized background screens 410a, 420 a, and 430 a and icons included in each corresponding backgroundscreen are resized and displayed together, as shown in the backgroundscreens shown in FIGS. 4A-4C, the user may easily visually identifywhich icons have been registered or disposed in each background screen.

Also, according to another exemplary embodiment of the presentinvention, the controller 10 may perform a control operation such thatthe resized and displayed background screens have a characteristic(e.g., transparency, background color, a background image, etc.) fordistinguishing the resized and displayed background screens from thecurrent background screen. For example, in order to distinguish aresized and displayed background screen from the current backgroundscreen, the controller 10 may control the transparency of the resizedand displayed background screen (e.g., to a transparency selected from arange of 0% to 100%), may change the background color of the resized anddisplayed background screen to a color different from the color of thecurrent background screen, or may change the background image of theresized and displayed background screen to an image (e.g., wallpaper)different from the image of the current background screen.

After steps S301 to S303, the controller 10 emphatically displays apredefined icon in each resized and displayed background screen in stepS304.

According to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, thecontroller 10 may record an icon execution history performed by the userin a database, for example, in such a manner as to count the number oftimes of execution of each icon and/or an execution time of each icon,through which the controller 10 can identify the number of times ofexecution (or selection), and/or an execution (or selection) timeaccording to each icon. Accordingly, according to an exemplaryembodiment of the present invention, the controller 10 may emphaticallydisplay an icon executed by the largest number of times or a mostrecently executed icon among icons registered in each background screenso as to distinguish the corresponding icon from other icons. In thiscase, emphatically (or distinctively) displaying an icon according to anexemplary embodiment of the present invention denotes displaying thecorresponding icon in a larger size than other icons or in a reversedform thereof. Through such a visual effect, the user can easily identifyone or more icons which have been the most recently or frequentlyexecuted.

On the assumption that the most frequently or most recently used icon ineach background screen corresponds to the icon 411 in the backgroundscreen 410, the icon 421 in the background screen 420, and the icon 431in the background screen 430, an example of the operation performed instep S304 will now be described with reference to FIGS. 5A-5C.

The background screen shown in FIG. 5A shows a modified example of theexemplary embodiment of the present invention described with referenceto the background screen shown in FIG. 4A. In more detail, thebackground screen shown in FIG. 5A shows an example where the backgroundscreens 420 and 430 are resized to the background screens 420 a and 430a and displayed, and icons 421 and 431 (see FIGS. 4B-4C), which are themost frequently or most recently used in the corresponding backgroundscreens 420 and 430, are resized/emphasized and displayed as icons 421 aand 431 a. The background screens shown in FIGS. 5B and 5C may bedescribed in a similar manner to that described on the background screenas shown in FIG. 5A. Accordingly, icons 411 a and 431 a areresized/emphasized and displayed as part of background screens 410 a and430 a, respectively, in background screen 420 shown in FIG. 5B. Andicons 421 a and 411 a are resized/emphasized and displayed as part ofbackground screens 420 a and 410 a, respectively, in background screen430 shown in FIG. 5C. Although the above description with reference toFIG. 5A and step S304 has been given on the case where only one icon isemphatically displayed according to each background screen, a pluralityof icons may be emphatically displayed according to each resized anddisplayed background screen, which can be set by the user. For example,the controller 10 may emphatically display icons executed equal to ormore than a predefined number of times according to each resized anddisplayed background screen. In this case, when icons are emphaticallydisplayed, the user may set to preferentially emphasize and display themost recently executed icon, to preferentially emphasize and display themost recently executed icon, or to preferentially emphasize and displaythe most recently executed icon and the most recently executed icon atthe same time. Also, the user may preset an icon to be emphaticallydisplayed in a predefined background screen when the predefinedbackground screen is resized and displayed.

After steps S301 to S304, the controller 10 determines if one of theresized background screens is selected in step S305, and makes atransition to a selected background screen in step S306 when it isdetermined that one of the resized background screens is selected.

When background screens and icons are resized and displayed, the usercan identify a background screen in which an icon corresponding to anapplication desired to be executed by the user through the resized anddisplayed background screens and icons, and can make a transition to thecorresponding background screen in order to execute the desiredapplication. For example, in a state where the current background screen420 and resized background screens 410 a and 430 a are displayed asshown in FIG. 4B, when an icon corresponding to an application desiredto be executed by the user is located in the resized background screen410 a, the user may select the resized background screen 410 a to make atransition to the background screen 410. When a transition has been madeto the background screen 410, a list of icons 411, 412, and 413registered in the background screen 410 is displayed in the backgroundscreen 410, and the user may execute one of the icons registered in thebackground screen 410 displayed by the transition so as to request acorresponding application to be executed. In this case, the selection ofa resized background screen can be achieved by a key input (e.g., adirectional key input) through the key input unit 27, or by a touchscreen input such as either touching the resized background screen ordragging into the resized background screen. Also, according to anexemplary embodiment of the present invention, when the mobile terminalincludes a device, such as an earth magnetic field sensor, sensing themotion of the mobile terminal, the user can request a transition to aresized and displayed background screen by moving the mobile terminal toa location of the resized and displayed background screen. For example,in a state where the background screen 410 shown in FIG. 4A isdisplayed, the user may move the mobile terminal to the left to make atransition to the background screen 420, or may move the mobile terminalto the right to transition to the background screen 430.

Separately from steps S305 and S306, when an icon emphasized by the useris selected in step S307, the controller 10 performs a control operationto execute an application corresponding to the selected icon in stepS308.

An application desired by the user may be executed by making atransition to a background screen, as described in steps S305 and S306,and then executing an icon corresponding to the desired application, oran additional adjustment of the mobile station by the user may berequired for executing the desired application. Therefore, according toan exemplary embodiment of the present invention, there is proposed amethod for immediately executing an application corresponding to only anemphatically displayed icon when the emphasized icon is selected.

For example, as shown in the background screen shown in FIG. 5C, when anicon 421 corresponding to an application desired to be executed by theuser is emphatically displayed as an icon 421 a, the user can request animmediate execution of the application corresponding to the icon 421 byselecting or executing the icon 421 a. In this case, the selection ofthe emphatically displayed icon 411 a, 421 a, or 431 a may be achievedby a direction key input, by a touch screen input, or by a motion of themobile terminal, as well.

After step S306 and step S308, the controller 10 determines if apredefined key signal, as input in step S301, is again input in stepS309, and performs a control operation to make the resized and displayedbackground screen disappear in step S310 when the predefined key signalis again input.

When the predefined key signal is again input, the controller 10performs a control operation to make the resized and displayedbackground screens (e.g., background screens 410 a, 420 a, and 430 a)disappear from a background screen as shown in FIGS. 4A-4C and 5A-5C sothat only the current background screen (or a background screenresulting from a transition) can be displayed in the display unit 50.Through this, the user can more easily identify icons registered in thebackground screens.

Although the technical aspects of the present invention have beendescribed in detail with the exemplary embodiments of the presentinvention, it should be appreciated that the exemplary embodimentsdescribed above are not limiting, but are instead only illustrative.

According to exemplary embodiments of the present invention, the usercan easily identify icons registered according to each backgroundscreen, so that the user can rapidly execute a desired application.

In addition, according to the exemplary embodiments of the presentinvention, one or more frequently or recently executed icons among iconsregistered in each background screen are emphatically displayed, so thatthe user can rapidly and easily execute frequently or recently executedapplications.

Certain aspects of the present invention can also be embodied ascomputer readable code on a computer readable recording medium. Acomputer readable recording medium is any data storage device that canstore data which can be thereafter read by a computer system. Examplesof the computer readable recording medium include Read-Only Memory(ROM), Random-Access Memory (RAM), CD-ROMs, magnetic tapes, floppydisks, and optical data storage devices. The computer readable recordingmedium can also be distributed over network coupled computer systems sothat the computer readable code is stored and executed in a distributedfashion. Also, functional programs, code, and code segments foraccomplishing the present invention can be easily construed byprogrammers skilled in the art to which the present invention pertains.

While the invention has been shown and described with reference tocertain exemplary embodiments thereof, it will be understood by thoseskilled in the art that various changes in form and details may be madetherein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention asdefined by the appended claims and their equivalents.

1. A method for displaying a background screen in a mobile terminal, themethod comprising: resizing other background screens, except for acurrent background screen currently being displayed, among a pluralityof background screens to a predefined display size when a predefined keyis input; and displaying the resized background screens in predefinedregions, respectively, within a display area in which the currentbackground screen is displayed.
 2. The method as claimed in claim 1,wherein the current background screen and the other background screensindividually comprise at least one icon, and, when the other backgroundscreens are resized, the at least one icon comprised in each of theother background screens is also resized and displayed.
 3. The method asclaimed in claim 1, wherein a predefined icon among the resized anddisplayed icons is emphatically displayed.
 4. The method as claimed inclaim 3, wherein the emphatically displayed icon corresponds to an iconselected or executed equal to or more than a predefined number of timesin a background screen which includes the emphatically displayed icon.5. The method as claimed in claim 3, wherein the emphatically displayedicon corresponds to an icon which has been most recently selected orexecuted at a time point when the predefined key input occurs, in abackground screen which includes the emphatically displayed icon.
 6. Themethod as claimed in claim 3, wherein the emphatically displayed iconcorresponds to an icon preset to be emphatically displayed in abackground screen which includes the emphatically displayed icon.
 7. Themethod as claimed in claim 3, further comprising: when the emphaticallydisplayed icon is selected or executed, executing an applicationcorresponding to the selected or executed icon.
 8. The method as claimedin claim 1, further comprising: when one of the resized backgroundscreens is selected, transitioning to the selected background screen. 9.The method as claimed in claim 1, further comprising: when thepredefined key is again input, the resized background screens disappearfrom the current background screen.
 10. The method as claimed in claim1, wherein the resized background screens are displayed with abackground element to distinguish the resized background screens fromthe current background screen.
 11. A mobile terminal apparatus fordisplaying a background screen, the apparatus comprising: a display unitfor displaying a background screen to a user; an input unit forreceiving input from the user; and a controller for controlling toresize other background screens, except for a current background screencurrently being displayed, among a plurality of background screens to apredefined display size when a predefined key is input, and forcontrolling to display the resized background screens in predefinedregions, respectively, within a display area of the display in which thecurrent background screen is displayed.
 12. The apparatus as claimed inclaim 11, wherein the current background screen and the other backgroundscreens individually comprise at least one icon, and, when the otherbackground screens are resized, the at least one icon comprised in eachof the other background screens is also resized and displayed.
 13. Theapparatus as claimed in claim 11, wherein a predefined icon among theresized and displayed icons is emphatically displayed.
 14. The apparatusas claimed in claim 13, wherein the emphatically displayed iconcorresponds to an icon selected or executed equal to or more than apredefined number of times in a background screen which includes theemphatically displayed icon.
 15. The apparatus as claimed in claim 13,wherein the emphatically displayed icon corresponds to an icon which hasbeen most recently selected or executed at a time point when thepredefined key input occurs, in a background screen which includes theemphatically displayed icon.
 16. The apparatus as claimed in claim 13,wherein the emphatically displayed icon corresponds to an icon preset tobe emphatically displayed in a background screen which includes theemphatically displayed icon.
 17. The apparatus as claimed in claim 13,wherein, when the emphatically displayed icon is selected or executed,the controller executes an application corresponding to the selected orexecuted icon.
 18. The apparatus as claimed in claim 11, wherein, whenone of the resized background screens is selected, the controllertransitions to the selected background screen.
 19. The apparatus asclaimed in claim 11, wherein, when the predefined key is again input,the controller controls such that the resized background screensdisappear from the current background screen.
 20. The apparatus asclaimed in claim 11, wherein the resized background screens aredisplayed with a background element to distinguish the resizedbackground screens from the current background screen.